We are pleased to announce that we will award $3,000 in prizes (plus publication to three new authors) for our 2012 Emerging Writer’s Contest, and that we have opened the award up to fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

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Since 1971, Ploughshares has been committed to promoting the work of up-and-coming writers. In the spirit of the magazine’s founding mission, the Ploughshares Emerging Writers Contest will recognize work by emerging writers.

Literary work first published in Ploughshares has been cited in the Pushcart Prize volumes more frequently than any other literary journal and is regularly featured in Best American anthologies. The magazine has an international readership and is widely distributed throughout the United States.  

Eligibility: 

We define an “emerging writer” as someone who has yet to publish a book, including chapbooks, eBooks, and self-published works. 

Submission Policies: 

• Please login to our online submission manager between February 1 and April 2, 2012. The submission manager will close at noon EST on April 2nd. (That’s Boston time.) Please plan accordingly. No late submissions will be accepted, even if you experience problems with the submission manager. 
• Entries must be nonfiction or fiction pieces under 5,000 words, or 3-5 poems. 
• The entry fee of $20, payable by credit card on the submission manager site, will include a 1-year subscription to Ploughshares. (Current subscribers may add to their subscription or give the subscription as a gift.)  
• Writers are allowed to submit to the contest only once per year. (No multiple genre submissions.)
  

Judge:

The winning story this year will be selected by our editors. Ladette Randolph will judge nonfiction, Margot Livesey will judge fiction, and John Skoyles will judge poetry.

Winners Announced:

The winners and two runner ups for each genre will be announced in the Fall 2012 issue of Ploughshares guest-edited by Patricia Hampl. The winning stories and poems will be published in the Winter 2012-13 issue of Ploughshares, edited by Ladette Randolph and John Skoyles. You will receive both of these issues as part of your subscription. Each genre winner will receive $1,000. Runner-ups do not receive a monetary prize.

DIRECTIONS TO SUBMIT

Please do NOT e-mail us about policies we have stated in these instructions. Read all instructions carefully and completely before submitting.

1. Please review our submission guidelines before uploading any work. Work that does not follow these guidelines will not be considered.
2. Fill in all of your contact information.
3. Use the browse button to find the single rich-text file on your computer that you would like to send. Select the file and click on the open button. Your file should then appear in the "file" field.
   • Include your cover letter as the first page of the file.
   • Please be certain you have uploaded the correct file. Once you've finished the submission process, you will not have an opportunity to correct it.
4. Paste your major credits in the "comments" box, then click submit.
5. Pay the $20 contest fee. This includes a year subscription to Ploughshares. If you are already a subscriber, we will add a year to your subscription, or give a one year subscription as a gift if you note it in the comments. Please note: we only accept Visa or Mastercard for payments. (We do NOT take American Express.)
6. You will then have the option to review your information and confirm that it is correct. Hit continue to finish.
   This is a beta program. Please be patient. We will modify the system as we go along.